Valentine Says Lawmaker Recommendations on Education May Have Sticker Shock

Leading Maryland lawmakers are asking a state commission on education to keep working into next year to develop increased funding formulas for K-12 that came with a big price tag. House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Mike Miller released a letter this week during a meeting of the commission. The panel had aimed to submit the recommendations to lawmakers before the start of the 90-day legislative session next month. Busch and Miller say it would have been difficult for the General Assembly to finish work on both the policy framework of the panel's recommendations and how to distribute added costs between the state and local jurisdictions in one session. Former Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine serves on the Commission and has expressed concerns from day one about the potential price tag associated with the recommendations- and how local county governments and boards of education will cover those costs…